In the wake of air pollution in many Chinese cities, especially in the north, the annual debate over whether *Lunar New Year *fireworks should be banned has heated up again. According to data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, 51 out of 338 monitored cities reported pollution levels were “serious” or higher on the Spring Festival Eve. At 2 am on the first day of the Year of the Sheep, 160 cities reported PM2.5 levels above 150mcg/square meter, primarily due to fireworks. Writing in the Beijing Times, commentator Xu Lifan says that there is no legal ground for a complete ban on fireworks during the Lunar New Year holiday because fireworks are not the only source of pollution, and many cities which allowed fireworks didn’t see their pollution levels rise too much.